Podcasting with Camtasia Relay

What is this service?

Originally, podcasting referred to online audio files which could be automatically downloaded to iPods by subscribing to feeds for those files. However, this term is now used to refer to any media file (audio, video, voice-over-PowerPoint, etc) that can be downloaded or streamed to any computer or mobile device. With our recent purchase of Camtasia Relay, KUMC faculty, staff, and students can easily record both audio and video podcasts, from their classroom, lecture hall, or office.

Why is this service important or valuable to faculty?

Capture your lectures for later student review, as make-ups for absent students, or to better reach online students.
Create short podcasts as enrichment materials on advanced or optional topics which cannot be covered during normal class time.
Make a screencast to demonstrate software features or provide instructions for doing a complicated task within a computer program.
Have your students create podcasts as an assignment, instead of a traditional term paper or group presentation.

What are some exciting and useful capabilities of this service?

An easy-to-use desktop application records whatever is on your computer screen and whatever you say into your computer microphone.
Once recorded, predefined user profiles automatically create needed audio and video files.
An automated upload process places podcast files on a webserver for immediate online viewing by your students and others.
ANGEL and RSS integration can provide students with instant notification when new podcasts become available.

What are some current KUMC pilot projects for this service?

The School of Medicine is recording all Year 1 and Year 2 lectures as both audio and video podcasts for future student viewing. This is a great full-on test of Camtasia Relay in our large lecture halls. So far, they have successfully recorded more than 200 lectures. Mike Karr is their project lead for this initiative.

In the School of Nursing, Meihsien Wang along with several other instructors are recording their classes held in an ITV room (2008 Orr Major). They are capturing the local classroom activities as well as student questions and comments at the remote locations. Since this course includes many guest speakers, recordings will also be used in future classes when a guest speaker is not available.

Several instructors in the School of Allied Health are using Camtasia Relay. Norbert Belz (HIM) is recording his classroom lectures using Camtasia Relay on his laptop. His podcasts are then used as review by his on-campus students and as first-time content presentation for his online students. Anna Johnson (HIM) is making screencasts for a variety of software applications used in HIM courses (i.e., Access, Excel). Allison Kabel (OT) podcasts short lecture reviews highlighting major points, instead of recording her entire lecture. Finally, Ken Davis (HIM) is recording lectures at his desk for his online students.

How do I use this service?

KUMC is currently piloting Camtasia Relay with faculty in all three schools. However, for Summer 2009, we are expanding that pilot into a limited rollout of 15-20 faculty groups. If you’re interested in using Camtasia Relay, please complete the following online form, and your TLT liaison will contact you to discuss your podcasting needs:

Sign up for Camtasia Relay.

Additional Online Resources for this service:

Best Practices in Educational Podcasting (pdf):
http://www2.kumc.edu/ir/tlt/podcasting/bestpracticesineducationalpodcasting.pdf
KUMC Camtasia Relay Quick Start Guide (pdf):
http://www2.kumc.edu/ir/tlt/podcasting/kumccamtasiarelayquickstartguide.pdf
Camtasia Relay Learning Center:
http://www.techsmith.com/learn/relay
Additional Information about RSS:
http://www2.kumc.edu/ir/tlt/tech/rss.html

For more information about this service, contact Teaching & Learning Technologies (TLT) at 913-588-7107 or tlt@kumc.edu

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